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January 15, 2007Day 5 – Monday INDEX OF BILLS COVERED IN TODAY’S REPORT HR 0003: Legislative Rules Amendment TODAY’S ACTION ON BILLS HR 0003: Legislative Rules Amendment On Monday, the House passed an amendment to the rules that govern its operation this session, to require a roll call vote when the House votes in favor of changing an appropriation. Rep. Alan Jones (R-H25, Powell) proposed the amendment to House rules, to bring the House into line with what the Senate already does. Decisions about appropriations (funding) can make or break a program. They may be among the most controversial issues of a session, so roll call votes are essential to ensure accountability. The House vote on this amendment was 59-0 with one member excused, Rep. Kathy Davison (R-H20, Kemmerer). HB 10: Subdivisions – Requirements HB 10 would allow counties to regulate the division of property into parcels that are between 35 and 100 acres in size. Current law does not allow regulation where the subdivision creates parcels that are 35 acres or larger. HB 10 would also require identification of mineral ownership and notification of mineral owners of subdivision plans. The House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee will hear HB 10 on Tuesday when the House recesses at noon. HB 11: Subdivisions - Exemptions HB 11 would require a landowner to own the property for at least five years before the family exemption to subdivision law could be applied. The bill would also create a new exemption to county subdivision laws, to allow parcels of five acres or less to be created to establish unmanned communication facilities, compressor stations, metering stations, fiber optic booster stations, or other similar unmanned facilities. The House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee will hear HB 11 on Tuesday when the House recesses at noon. HB 19: Incest – Increase
in Penalties HB 19 would increase the penalties for a felony conviction for incest. A conviction would be punishable by imprisonment up to 15 years (compared to the current maximum of 5 years), a fine up to $10,000 (compared to the current maximum of $5,000), or both. The House passed HB 19, 59-0 (1 excused), on third reading Monday, and the bill will now move to the Senate. HB 25: Domestic Violence Counseling Period HB 25 would amend the time period a person who has committed an act of domestic abuse may be required to participate in counseling or other appropriate treatment. Currently, counseling may be required for up to 90 days. HB 25 would allow counseling or other treatment for the abuser to be required for as long as a protection order was in effect. The House Committee of the Whole passed HB 25 on Monday, and the bill will move on to second reading on Tuesday. HB 36: Rape Shield Law HB 36 would specify the type of evidence related to a victim’s sexual conduct that is admissible or not admissible in a sexual assault trial. The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed HB 36 on Monday, and the bill is on general file in the House. HB 47: Prevailing Wage Amendments HB 47 would authorize a single statewide wage district for the purpose of calculating the prevailing wage on state-funded contracts, would authorize the Department of Employment to investigate prevailing wage violations upon its own volition, would remove a requirement that prevailing wage determinations must use employment security law wage reports, and would provide a bid preference of one percent (1%) to contractors who participated in the Department of Employment’s prevailing wage survey. The House Committee of the Whole passed HB 47 on Monday, and the bill will move on to second reading on Tuesday. HB 60: Home Owner’s
Tax Credit HB 60 would simplify and expand for one year a current state program that provides a tax credit to eligible homeowners. These changes would apply to property taxes imposed during the calendar year 2007. The bill would appropriate $5.3 million from the general fund to pay for the tax credits. The House Revenue Committee unanimously passed HB 60 on Monday, and the bill has been re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee. HB 62: Natural Resources Large Project Funding HB 62 would authorize funding for two large projects under the Wildlife and Natural Resource Funding Act that have been approved by the board of the trust fund. The Bates Creek Watershed Restoration project would receive $200,000 and the Lander Front mule deer project would receive $230,000. The House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee unanimously passed HB 62 on Monday, and the bill has been re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee. HB 97: Hathaway Scholarship Eligibility HB 97 would define the success curriculum that will be required for high school students to qualify for Hathaway student scholarships for college. The specified curriculum would be applied to students graduating from high school during the 2010-2011 school year, and would be phased in for students graduating before 2010. The success curriculum would include four years of math, four years of language arts, four years of science, and three years of social studies. In addition to completing the success curriculum, students would have to score at least proficient on the 11 th grade proficiency assessment (PAWS test) to be eligible for a scholarship. The House Education Committee was scheduled to hear HB 99 on Monday, but no results have been reported. Check Tuesday’s report for an update. HB 99: Hathaway Scholarship Program HB 99 would expand the Hathaway scholarship program to graduate and professional degrees and would extend the time students could attend post secondary educational institutions. HB 99 would clarify how to handle scholarships when a student attends more than one eligible school whereby the student would designate a home school that would be paid the entire scholarship amount granted to the student. The House Education Committee was scheduled to hear HB 99 on Monday, but no results have been reported. Check Tuesday’s report for an update. HB 107: Home Owner’s Tax Credit – County
Option HB 107 would have authorized an optional homeowner’s tax credit at the county level. The House Revenue Committee did not act on HB 107 on Monday, when the bill died for lack of a second. HB 108: Property
Tax – Assessment
Rate HB 108 would have reduced the taxable value that personal property is taxed in Wyoming from the current 9.5% to 8.25% of fair market value. HB 108 would have reduced property tax revenue to the state by an estimated $102 million during fiscal years 2009 and 2010. Local governments and the school foundation account would have received $85.2 million and $16.8 million respectively during 2009 and 2010 to make up for the revenue they would otherwise would have lost. The House Revenue Committee did not act on HB 108 on Monday, when the bill died for lack of a second. HB 115: School Finance - Amendments HB 115 would address a number of matters relating to the financing of public schools in Wyoming. The bill would extend the summer school, extended day school, and instructional facilitator programs, would clarify the enrichment program part of the extended day program, and would direct the Wyoming Department of Education to recommend permanent funding for these programs for consideration by the 2008 Legislature. HB 115 would continue the ongoing review and evaluation of the at-risk program, and would initiate a review of distance education programs. HB 115 has been passed by the House Education Committee, and has been re-referred to the House Appropriations Committee. HB 120: Sex Offender Registration HB 120 would amend a number of provisions related to required registration of convicted sex offenders. The bill would reduce the time in which an offender must register, eliminate district court hearings to determine the level of risk for re-offense that an offender may pose, eliminate risk levels for re-offense, require all levels of sexual offenders to register, make registration information about all offenders public, increase the time of required registration for offenders, and increase the penalties for failure to register. Opponents of this bill argued that it would remove due process safeguards, take away judicial discretion, and treat all sexual offenders including adolescents as sexual predators, with no consideration for specific case circumstances or likelihood of re-offense. The House Appropriations Committee will hear HB 120 on Tuesday morning at about 8:30 am. HB 124: Eminent Domain -
2 HB 124 would strengthen landowners’ standing in legal actions to condemn their private property for public or private projects. It would allow better compensation for landowners, would require reclamation and restoration of property acquired by eminent domain, and would limit condemnation authority for urban renewal projects. It would also eliminate the maximum amount on relocation expenses for a displaced farm, organization or small business (now capped at $10,000). The House Agriculture, Public Lands and Water Resources Committee will consider HB 124 on Tuesday morning at 7:30 am. SF 12: Sex Offenses by Corrections Personnel SF 12 would establish a crime for sex offenses committed by corrections staff against persons under supervision by the corrections facility. It would also provide that consent of the victim is not a defense against such crimes. Wyoming currently has no law against sex offenses by corrections staff against residents or inmates of the correctional system. The Senate laid back SF 12 on Monday, postponing the third reading vote on the bill until Tuesday. SF 33: Open Containers of Alcohol SF 33 represents the fifth attempt in five years to strengthen Wyoming’s law regulating open containers of alcoholic beverages in motor vehicles. Current law (adopted in 2001) only prohibits the driver of a vehicle from possessing an opened container of alcohol, but does not apply to passengers in vehicles. SF 33 would extend the prohibition on open containers to any person in a motor vehicle while it is in motion. The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed SF 33 on Monday (with one member excused) and the bill has been placed on general file. SF 46: School Finance – Recapture – 2 SF 46 would implement an amendment to the Wyoming Constitution that was approved by the voters of the state in the 2006 general election. SF 46 would statutorily require school districts that are subject to recapture to remit the excess revenues to the state for the 2006-2007 school year and every year thereafter. Contractual obligations encumbered before March 15, 2007 would be honored and deducted from 2006-2007 recaptured amounts. Recaptured revenues would flow into the public school foundation account. The Senate Committee of the Whole passed SF 46 on Monday, and the bill will move on to second reading on Tuesday. SF 51: Temporary Instream Flows SF 51 would permit the state buy, lease, or accept water rights for temporary instream flow purposes. Currently, temporary water use laws do not allow instream flow as a temporary use. SF 51 would allow temporary use for instream flows for up to two years, and a temporary transfer of water rights for instream flow would not be allowed if another water appropriator was harmed by it. The Senate Agriculture, Public Lands and Water Resources Committee will consider SF 51 on Tuesday after the Senate adjourns for the day. SF 100: Public School Teacher Incentive Programs SF 100 would provide funding for school districts for incentive payments of $2,000 to teachers who are certified and teach in more than one subject area throughout the school year, and for incentive payments of $4,000 to teachers who hold national board certification. It would cost the school foundation fund about $628,000 to fully fund these two incentive programs. The Senate Education Committee was scheduled to hear SF 100 on Monday, but no results have been reported. Check Tuesday’s report for an update. SF 102: Children’s
Advocacy Centers SF 102 would allow children’s advocacy centers (which provide comprehensive services to children who are victims of sexual and physical abuse and neglect) to apply for state and federal funding from the attorney general’s office, through the crime victim’s compensation program. SF 102 would appropriate $1.5 million from the general fund to pay for the program. The Senate Education Committee was scheduled to hear SF 102 on Monday, but no results have been reported. Check Tuesday’s report for an update.
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